Work the System: Transformation, delivered

Over the past four decades, a number of trends, or movements have provided promising, constructive impulses for organizations and the world of work. The most recent of these trends has been produced by the Agile movement. Before that came TQM/Quality and Lean - to name just three of the most significant trends of the last 40 years. Although these approaches arguably pointed in the right direction (at least initially), they ultimately all failed to fulfill their potential. In this article, I argue that the biggest blind spot of these movements has been their failure to offer suitable change or transformation approaches. The problem: Without a proper approach to transformation, Agile & Co. work more like dextrose pills: They may deliver short bursts of energy, followed by a swift return to the original state.

By Niels Pflaeging